Gene Schiller

Music Director, Classical Music Host

Gene Schiller joined HPR in September, 1993 as a board operator. His first break came when he was asked to fill in for Music Director Alan Bunin. Six months later, he became the new host of Evening Concert, a program that runs on HPR-2 from 6 to 8 p.m. on weeknights.

In 1996, Gene was invited to take over the Sunday morning classical program, Sunday Brunch, which at the time was scheduled from 10 to noon. "About three years later, I turned it into a request program," he recalls, "and soon after that it was expanded to run from 9 to noon, still in the request format."

Gene, who continues on Sunday Brunch, now hosts Morning Cafe and Morning Concert every morning from 8:00 a.m. to noon. All three are regularly scheduled local classical programs heard on HPR-2.

Gene was named HPR's Music Director in 2001.

He was born in Los Angeles, and his family moved to Hawaiʻi in 1959 just as he entered the third grade. He's lived here ever since, attending St. Louis and then Kaimuki High School. Gene has been in radio for 18 years. He originally joined KORL as a host for a big band show. "I come from a family of musicians," he recalls, "and I am the only member who isn't a musician, doesn't read music or play an instrument - but I've always been a good listener."

In town for a pair of concerts this weekend with the Hawaii Symphony, conductor Keith Lockhart (of the Boston Pops) and violinist Robert McDuffie stop by for an informal chat on Gene Schiller’s Morning Café.

Early Music Hawaii presents “Music of Three Faiths” this weekend at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in Kailua-Kona. Ian Capps of “The Early Muse” and the Peabody Consort’s Brian Kay discuss the merging of musical styles from this unique period in history.

HSO Artistic Director JoAnn Falletta and Composer Anders Paulsson were in the studio this morning to talk about their upcoming performance with the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra featuring a new work by Paulsson titled "Kumulipo Reflections."

Andre Previn's Opera A Streetcar Named Desire, based on the famous play of the same name is being performed on January 27, 29, and 31st, 2017 at the NBC Concert Hall By Hawaii Opera Theatre. HPR's Gene Schiller sat down with singers from the HOT performance to talk about the opera.